Becoming Merkorian
With the basket of various colored orbs on her back Khaldera had traveled a good distance to where she was going to meet with a Khehorian woman named Anodyne. She was the one who was going to aid Khaldera with the ritual that she would be going through, the one that would help her to gain the power she sought. As he made her way to where she was going to meet with the woman she found herself wondering if there was much of a difference between the changes that a Khehora and that of a Merkora. She supposed that the differences were minor at best given that the biggest differences between them were the fact that she didn't have wings, just gills. So long as the ritual took that into account she would be happy, not wanting to risk something going wrong because she was of a different classification of Khehora. She'd be sure to chat with Anodyne when the two of them met up, to make sure that the ritual would go smoothly no matter what she was.
The end of her journey brought her to a cave, one that had a brightly colored female standing before it. She starred at the female for a long moment, mouth falling open just a little. She was a rather lovely creature, wasn't she? She also had a grand aura, one that spoke of the power the Khehorian woman had access to. It was quite impressive and had Khaldera's tail swishing behind her in a delighted manner. She was pleased that the one she was going to be learning from was this female. She'd heard whispers there was also a male out there somewhere but that wasn't the sort she wanted to deal with. From what she'd seen the breeders that walked around on land weren't her sort, they weren't nearly as quiet and meek as she liked.
As such learning from another female was preferable... not to mention it had her thinking for an idle moment of Malta. She should go and visit her again soon as she'd enjoyed the time that she'd spent with the Ysali some back. Shaking that thought off she turned her full attention back to the Khehorian before she said, "I'm here to go through the ritual to become a Merkorian." As though the fact that she was carrying a basket full of dragon orbs on her back didn't clearly indicate that. Shifting herself so that she was standing tall she continued, "I need aid in how to go about this." It was a ritual that was talked about in only the vaguest whispers. People knew that one could become a Merkorian but not how to exactly. That was why she was here to meet with Anodyne after all. If it was something easy to do then one wouldn't have to travel all over the world gathering orbs to do so she supposed.
Anodyne motioned to follow her, explaining the ritual as they went. It seemed as though the power that was contained in the dragon orbs was the catalyst to become a Merkorian. The more of them that one was able to gather the better because it meant that there were more of them to tap into for their power. That power was what was absorbed into the one doing the ritual so that they could then shift into their new, more powerful form.
Once she was lead into the massive cavern, one that had torches lit all around the edges, allowing her to see the whole room. Anodyne explained to her that she would need to meditate in the cavern, absorb the power of the orbs, and if things went well then she would ascend into her place as a Merkorian. On top of the explanation given Anodyne was able to help calm the nerves that Khaldera had as well, telling her that no matter, Khehora, Merkora, or any of their cousins, that the ritual would go accordingly. Provided of course that the ritual was successful. It was that chance of potential failure that had Khaldera a little worried as Anodyne left her alone to unpack her various dragon orbs.
Each orb was laid out before Khaldera neatly and she found herself studying each and every one of the beautiful orbs individually, "It will be a shame to find myself without any orbs left." She murmured. It was a shame, but most certainly not a waste if everything went accordingly. The power of a Merkorian was something she'd been seeking for some time, knowing that only with that sort of power would she be able to see to it that things changed for the better for her clan. With the thought of her people in mind, and all the good things that she was going to do for them, she set to meditating upon the neatly laid out dragon orbs. To this point the everything that she had done to improve herself was for her clan, wanting to be able to get stronger for them.
Her silvery eyes sank closed as she thought about the various things she wanted to do in the future, the children that she would see grow up, the children that she might herself have one day. There was much to consider, this ritual being only the first step toward the rest of her life instead of some sort of final ending. As she thought on all of these things each of the orbs sitting before her started to glow brightly and, one by one, crumbled away, their colorful light being absorbed by the Merkora. Each shimmering light causing her body to momentarily glow with that color before she returned to her natural color, only to have it happen again. Time and again the lights from the orbs were taken in by Khaldera's body, with the Diabi orbs being the last that she took in. They were dark orbs, seeming to shimmer with a darker light, but it was something that Khaldera found to be beautiful. It might be partially her own biased being that she was part Diabi but she didn't care, she was allowed to be biased when it came to her bloodline.
It was as she took in the dark power of the last Diabi orb that her body became to flicker brightly from the various colors of the orbs she'd gathered. The flickering grew faster and faster, until there was one bright explosion of light... and she was left sitting there in the came, the torch lights dancing around her, all of the orbs now gone. Khaldera lifted her new hands up, inspecting them, before she pushed to her feet, going about the inspection of the rest of her new form. All of it was quite acceptable, though for a moment she questioned the uses of the large best she'd been 'blessed' with in this form. No matter, it must have its uses, she merely had to figure them out was all. Upon further inspection she found that she still had her claws, her tail, some of her fins, and her lure among other aspects of the Merkora that she had once been. All good things to find as she'd been a bit worried about what she might become. To find that she hadn't lost the essential things that made Khaldera herself pleased the Merkorian to no end.
Now, to show off this new form of hers to her host, and possibly figure out where she might be able to get her claws on some clothing. While it was nothing she was interested in personally she figured it was necessary. While few and far between all of the two-legs she'd met to this point had been wearing clothing. Even Anodyne, a Khehorian, had been dressed up, meaning clothing was important to them. Far be it for her to insult their delicate sensibilities by wandering about sans clothing she thought to herself, her lips twisting into a toothy smirk. Here was to hoping the clothing she found for herself it wouldn't get in the way of important things like battles.
Scooping up her now empty basket, feeling she might need it again in the future, Khaldera went to find her Khehorian host, to chat with her, and show her that she had been successful. How she couldn't wait to get back home, to show all the other members of the Deep Sea Clan what she'd become. There was a part of her that was a little on the exhausted side after everything she'd gone through to this point but she refused to show that, not wanting to bother with something like napping right now. Later, once she'd returned to Kamau and the safe haven that was the ocean, then she would nap. For now she had more questions that only Anodyne, as a female Khehorian, could answer for her.
Heading toward the opening of the cave, having little in the way of modesty when it came to another of her kind... or at least close to, she approached the woman, "I would speak with you about clothing and its uses now." She said, her tail swishing behind as she set about asking where she could get herself something to wear, how annoying clothing could be, and what the best things to where might be. Again she was glad that her host was female, it made these sorts of questions easier as well, feeling that some land dwelling breeder would likely be quite useless when it came to female clothing.
Once she had all the information she felt that she needed Khaldera shifted into her Merkora form, for the time being, and was on her way to hunt down some clothing. The difference in size between her Merkorian self and the two-legs she'd met to this point was substantial but if she put in the effort she would find what she was looking for. At least she really hoped so or else things might end up a little awkward for the two legs she might deal with in the future.
(( Word Count: 1677 ))
